This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The INBRE program at the University of Maine at Machias is developing institutional capacity for training and research opportunities in molecular and biomedical sciences, for both faculty and undergraduates. The INBRE-supported research project at UMM, "Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Alleles: Genetic And Functional Variation In The Antigen Binding Site of Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar," has broad implications for disease susceptibility, and also tightly ties with other research interests at the institution in salmon biology and ecology. Most of the science majors come to UMM interested in ecological and field-based experiences. Students interested in biomedical or molecular studies have had relatively few options for in-depth study in those areas. INBRE funds support undergraduate participation in short courses, summer research fellowships, and opportunities to attend and present at the annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium. Equipment dedicated to cellular and molecular research has been purchased;specifically incubators for both bacterial culture and tissue culture, -80 degree freezer, a balance, and micropipettors. In addition to students participating on the PI's project, a spin-off project to establish salmon cell lines for parasite testing is planned for a Senior Thesis over the coming year. UMM's goal is to increase the number of students who choose to pursue careers in biomedical fields and to incorporate genomic and biomedical research training techniques into ecological and environmental curricula.